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As I watched the figure skating encores tonight I keep having these boo hoo moments, mixed with moments of joy. First they did on of those “Bob Costas highlight” moments about Sarah Hughes’ performance last night. Watching it again brought tears to my eyes. Then Michelle Kwan skated, and she showed her true grace that makes her the champion that she will always be. She is absolutely amazing, she has such dignity. At the end of her performance she was crying … and so was I. There were performances that made me laugh too – Timothy Goebbel was great; Sale & Pelletier had some get down boogie going on that was a lot of fun. Then the Russian pair team came out to skate, and did what they always do – showed such innovative and amazing moves. It is stunning to watch them skate, they really are poetry in motion. Yagudin performed, then left the ice to change shirts … and they showed it. Ooooh, baby! Hot, hot, hot… Sarah Hughes had two encores – one was a lot of fun, fresh & funky. The other one was more somber – a tribute to New York. After that, the finale … and I’m crying again. Wow. I love this part. Everyone is out on the ice again. But what was so cool was when the Canadian pair & the Russian pair were announced and they skated together in unison – the men both lifting their partners up high in the same pose. Then they formed a crack-the-whip like line, then shifted so that the men were together spinning the women in a death spiral position – as if it was one pair, just made up of 4 people. It’s nearly impossible to describe with words, but it teared me up again. It showed such unity among the two teams, like they have no hard feelings about sharing the gold medal status. The whole finale was skated to the “light the fire within” song from the Opening Ceremony, and they formed the Olympic rings on the ice with the flags. I will say it again – the 2002 Winter Olympics had some of the best skating I have seen in years. And the most consistent with the strongest competition. I’ve really enjoyed it all. How soon until the World competition? A month? Is it time for the 2006 Olympic Games yet?

Last night before the women’s ice skating finals, there was talk of how the Russians were threatening to take their toys, er, atheletes & go home. They were made and didn’t feel like people were playing fair. This is really just the icing on the cake though: the have filed a claim to protest the women’s final results. “We filed the protest last night because we think the judging was biased,” the head of the Russian delegation in Salt Lake City, Viktor Mamatov, told The Associated Press on Friday. “Canadian pairs skaters were awarded their gold medals. Now that subjective judging harmed us, we want the same for Slutskaya.” Sorry, I missed the pairs finals. But no one took the gold away from the Russian pair, they awarded one to the Canadians after finding that there were issues with the pairs judges. On the other hand, I did watch last night’s program. Sarah Hughes was flawless, and I think if she had skated last instead of second in her round (out of 6) she would have had some 5.9’s or 6.0’s up there on the score board. Slutskaya bobbled & fell at the end of a jump and did not skate as complicated of a program, plus her performance marks were not as high. Sorry, I don’t buy it. No gold for Slutskaya, she didn’t earn it. She did however earn a silver, she did do quite well. I think, based on their performances last night, the results were perfect. I sure hope the judges will see the same thing. [via Michele]

Oh, by the way, the Koreans are threatening to go home too. But not over the figure skating event…

Ok, Sarah Hughes just finished her skate (on the Tivo, behind real time still…) and let me just say – DAMN! Damn! She ROCKED!!! Oh my goodness!!! She was amazing! She maxed out the number of triple jumps she could do! Everything about her performance was PERFECT. I’m just stunned. And I *loved* her music. It had some zest, some zing! She got a standing ovation, and she deserved it. The priceless moment? As she came off the ice she was hugging a man – maybe her dad? Or a coach? And she said “I never did that before in my LIFE!” through her tears of joy. I love moments like that…

(Update after Michelle Kwan’s skate) Wow. I’m stunned. Sarah Hughes was awesome, Sasha Cohen did not live up to my expectations – she did not perform quite as amazingly as the night before last, and she even fell. Then Michelle skated … and fell twice. She could still win the Gold (I have to watch Irena Slutskaya skate still) but … I just don’t know now. I will say you could tell what an amazing sportsman Michelle is though – she skated hard, even after falling – she never gave up. I love watching her perform for that reason – she’s not just an athelete, she is an artist.

(Update at the end) OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!!! I’m screaming right along with Sarah Hughes! OH MY GOD!!! She won the GOLD!!! She won! She won! I can’t believe it! And she *so* deserved it! I would have NEVER guessed the outcome (uh, as you can tell by my post below) She got the GOLD! And she was awesome!!! On a side note – is it just me or does her coach look like Katie Couric?

So there it is – Sarah Hughes, Ilena Slutskaya, and then Michelle Kwan. I would have never thought Michelle would get the Bronze. Based on the skates tonight though, Sarah WON that Gold. Without a doubt.

Sitting here watching the women’s figure skating finals on TV. I am about 20 minutes behind “real time” so I have no clue yet who won – but I wanted to share this, so I had to pause the Tivo. I hate Tara Lipinski. There, I said it. I was *stunned* 4 years ago when she won the gold. I thought her skating was dull. I know, that’s not what how the judges judge, and that’s why I’m not a judge. I still get to have my opinion though. Even now that she isn’t competing, she still rubs me the wrong way. I saw her in a commercial the other day and … well, like nails on a chalkboard. I know she’s a “hometown girl” and all that, whoohoo. I don’t like her. Michelle Kwan deserved the gold medal in 98. She deserves it now. I would give the silver to Sasha Cohen – well, based on the short program. She rocked Tuesday night. She amazes me. It’s like *wham* out of nowhere, there she is on the skating scene. And Sarah Hughes is really great too – so I look forward to seeing how this all works out! It would be great if we had a medal sweep tonight!

Why do the women use this boooooring music? Maybe that’s why I prefer watching the pairs and the mens events over the womens? Scott Hamilton was saying earlier “it’s so they can focus on their choreography & jumps.” But the men use spunky fun music, not this stuff that is putting me into a coma. I think fast, fun music should be required.

Off to see who wins the gold. Tomorrow night, an encore of the skating. Yeah! I can finally see the Russian and Canadian pairs programs!